Celtic Paganism

Celtic Paganism has many different expressions and each of these expressions constitute a tradition in itself. It is misleading to simply call oneself Celtic without a further study into what that means. The term "Celtic" spans at least 8 countries. Although no one can pinpoint where the Celts actually came from, there are many historical findings and artifacts to prove where they eventually ended up. The first distinctly "Celtic" culture is believed to have been born circa 800 B.C.E. By the sixth century they had expanded into what are now the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria, as well as Belgium, the Netherlands and all of northeastern France from Normandy to the Alps. Three centuries later they occupied the rest of France, crossed the English Channel to Britain and Ireland, and occupied the western half of the Iberian Peninsula. In 387 B.C.E. the Celts invaded Rome and held it for 7 months, leaving only after being debilitated by an epidemic, although not so debilitated that they didn't exact a huge payment from the Romans for the privelege of seeing them go! Almost a century later, the Celts invaded Greece and sacked Delphi, removing a large hoard of gold. Even Alexander the Great found it prudent to form an alliance with the people whom the Greeks called the "Keltoi" or "Galatai". As with all conquering societies, even when they withdrew from a region part of their heritage and personality was inevitably left behind.

So you see, claiming to be Celtic can mean any number of traditions. Following is a listing of some -certainly not all- of the many traditions that are in some way Celtic. On this page I've listed some of the more prominent Celtic Traditions in the Pagan Community. Most of the listings are followed by web sites where you may go to learn more if you so desire. Obviously it would be impossible to list all the Traditions that are in some way Celtic, what I've done here is include the ones that seem to have the most impact on the most people.